To establish temporary measures to facilitate the reemployment of Federal employees who are involuntarily separated from teaching positions abroad; to amend title 5, United States Code, with respect to continuing health benefits for such employees; and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 8, 1994

Mr. MCCLOSKEY introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Post Office and Civil Service and Education and Labor

A BILL

To establish temporary measures to facilitate the reemployment of Federal employees who are involuntarily separated from teaching positions abroad; to amend title 5, United States Code, with respect to continuing health benefits for such employees; and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Department of Defense Overseas Educators Act’.

(1) the term ‘agency’ means an Executive agency (as defined by section 105 of title 5, United States Code), excluding the General Accounting Office;

(2) the term ‘DoDDS teacher’ means a teacher within the meaning of section 2(2) of the Defense Department Overseas Teachers Pay and Personnel Practices Act (20 U.S.C. 901(2)); and

(3) the term ‘displaced employee’ means--

(A) a DoDDS teacher who has been given specific notice that such individual is to be separated due to a reduction in force; and

(B) any individual who has been involuntarily separated from service as a DoDDS teacher due to a reduction in force.

(b) CONSIDERATION FOR VACANT POSITIONS- In accordance with regulations which the Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe (consistent with otherwise applicable provisions of law), an agency shall, in filling a vacant position for which a qualified displaced employee has applied in timely fashion, give full consideration to the application of the displaced employee before selecting any candidate from outside the agency for the position.

(c) LIMITATION- A displaced employee shall remain entitled to the consideration described in subsection (b) until the end of the 12-month period beginning on--

(1) the date such employee receives the specific notice described in subsection (a)(3)(A); or

(2) if the employee is involuntarily separated (as described in subsection (a)(3)(B)), the effective date of the separation.

(d) APPLICABILITY-

(1) IN GENERAL- This section shall apply to any individual who--

(A) becomes a displaced employee during the 12-month period ending on the day before the date of enactment of this Act; or

(B) becomes a displaced employee on or after the date of enactment of this Act and before October 1, 1997.

(2) RULE FOR APPLYING THE 12-MONTH LIMITATION TO CURRENT DISPLACED EMPLOYEES- For the purpose of any displaced employee described in paragraph (1)(A), the 12-month period under subsection (c) shall be considered to begin on the date of enactment of this Act, rather than the date which would otherwise be required by subsection (c).

(3) POSITIONS TO WHICH THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY- Nothing in this section shall be considered to apply with respect to any position--

(A) which has been filled as of the date of enactment of this Act; or

(B) which has been excepted from the competitive service because of its confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating character.

SEC. 3. TEACHER RECRUITMENT.

(a) AMENDMENT RELATING TO BENEFITS FOR TEACHERS RECRUITED ABROAD-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 5 of the Defense Department Overseas Teachers Pay and Personnel Practices Act (20 U.S.C. 903) is amended by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e), and by inserting after subsection (c) the following:

‘(d)(1) Each individual recruited outside the United States for service in a teaching position shall, after such individual completes 1 full school year of service in a teaching position, be entitled to the same benefits as an individual recruited in the United States, to the extent that such benefits are based on service in a teaching position.

‘(2)(A) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in the case of any individual who is the spouse of, and residing in the same household as, a member of a uniformed service who is eligible (as such a member) for benefits comparable to those described in section 7 or 8 of this Act.

‘(B) An individual shall not be considered to have ceased to reside in the same household as a member if due to a reassignment of such member for 90 days or less.’.

(2) SERVICE TO BE CONSIDERED- In administering the amendment made by paragraph (1), service performed before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act shall be considered.

(b) AMENDMENT RELATING TO THE DEFINITION OF A ‘TEACHING POSITION’- Paragraph (1) of section 2 of the Defense Department Overseas Teachers Pay and Personnel Practices Act (20 U.S.C. 901(1)) is amended by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B)(iii) and inserting a comma, and by adding at the end of such paragraph the following:

‘including those cases in which such duties and responsibilities are performed--

‘(I) in a substitute capacity;

‘(II) as a summer school teacher;

‘(III) as an instructor for the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps;

‘(IV) as a paraprofessional or teacher aide;

‘(V) for a definite term, not to exceed 1 school year, in the excepted service; or

‘(5) provide for a recertification program for professional personnel employed in the system to obtain not more than 6 semester-hours of graduate or undergraduate coursework in any discipline or subject area taught by schools of the defense dependents’ education system, and’.

(c) APPLICABILITY- The amendments made by subsection (a)(1)--

(1) shall apply with respect to compensation for service performed in fiscal years beginning more than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act; and

(2) shall be deemed not to have been enacted for purposes of determining compensation for service performed before the first fiscal year to which such amendments apply under paragraph (1).

SEC. 5. CONTINUED HEALTH BENEFITS.

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 8905a(d) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ‘Except as provided in paragraph (4),’ and inserting ‘Except as provided in paragraph (4) or (5),’;

(2) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘in accordance with paragraph (1) or (4),’ and inserting ‘in accordance with paragraph (1), (4), or (5),’; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

‘(5)(A) For the purpose of this paragraph, the term ‘teaching position’ has the meaning given such term under section 2(1) of the Defense Department Overseas Teachers Pay and Personnel Practices Act.

‘(B) If the basis for continued coverage under this section is an involuntary separation from a teaching position due to a reduction in force--

‘(i) the individual shall be liable for not more than the employee contributions referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(i); and

‘(ii) the agency which last employed the individual shall pay the remaining portion of the amount required under paragraph (1)(A).

‘(C) This paragraph shall apply with respect to any individual whose continued coverage is based on a separation occurring on or after the date of enactment of this paragraph and before--

‘(i) October 1, 1997; or

‘(ii) February 1, 1998, if specific notice of such separation was given to such individual before October 1, 1997.’.

(b) SOURCE OF PAYMENTS- Any amount which becomes payable by an agency as a result of the enactment of subsection (a) shall be paid out of funds or appropriations available for salaries and expenses of such agency.